


Bad Wolf Unbound

by AXEe



Series: Lucky Thirteen [7]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Gen, Prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-06 20:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 11,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17351879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: Hello all! Chapter one of the next installment of "Lucky Thirteen", hope you all enjoy! :=)





	1. Paradise Lost

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Chapter one of the next installment of "Lucky Thirteen", hope you all enjoy! :=)

******

The rocks were rough, cutting against her skin as she crawled her way to a relatively isolated corner. Not that anywhere was isolated here. No, not here.

Gasping in pain as she held her side, she took mental stock, surmising that she had at least two broken ribs and some deep bruising. Although she should consider herself fortunate that all they wanted were her boots.

She’d gotten a few good blows in, but there had just been too many of them and she was so weak from lack of food, the food rations being available on a first come, first serve basis; if you could successfully keep hold of your ration and fight off anyone else who wanted it then you were safe.

For a while at least.

Wincing as she finally reached the small alcove formed in the rock face; River Song pulled herself in as tightly as she could before she finally passed out…

******

“Well…,” The Doctor stood back and put her hands on her hips as she assessed the TARDIS console “this is…bad”

“What is it?” Rose asked

“The coordinates that River left,” The Doctor began “they lead to Paradise, one of the worst prisons in the galaxy”

“Worse then Stormcage?” Rose asked

“A _lot_ worse,” The Doctor nodded “the whole planet’s a penal colony; a rabbit’s warren of tunnels and caves all burrowed into the planet’s crust. The prisoners are just dumped there and left to rot by the thousands, fitted with neuro-jammers,” she explained “implants that affect your brain chemistry, heightening aggression and paranoia the longer they’re in, making it so that the prisoners can’t band together and rebel”

“Excuse me,”

The Doctor and Rose looked up

“Somebody want to explain to use just who or what ‘river’ is?” Yaz asked as she held up a hand, Graham and Ryan doing the same

“Professor River Song,” The Doctor explained “archeologist, thief, child of the TARDIS, and…,” she sighed, glancing at Rose “…our wife”

“Sorry, what?” Graham asked “you want to run that by us again?”

“Oh, you know how it is,” The Doctor dismissed “you get drunk, somebody suggests something stupid, you say ‘yes’, and then you wake up with a splitting headache and a ring on your finger that wasn’t there before. Happens to us all”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Graham nodded sarcastically “if you’re in Las Vegas”

“We were actually,” Rose spoke up “oh,” she frowned “Doctor, what about Jack? We should tell him”

“Oh, right,” The Doctor began throwing switches “first stop, Cardiff”, the TARDIS surging to life “we’ll make a quick stop,” she muttered “just…rematerialize the TARDIS…around…ah-ha!”

As the group watched a figure slowly began to fade into existence in one corner of the room

“Oh. Whoops” The Doctor winced as it became clear that the figure was in the midst of a shower.

Wiping the soap suds out of his eyes, Jack Harkness looked around, finally spotting The Doctor and Rose

“Geez, Doc, if you wanted a peek at me in the shower you could've just asked” he grinned

“Sorry, Jack, can’t flirt right now,” The Doctor explained hurriedly as she began fiddling with the console’s controls “we’ve got a situation”

“You’ve _always_ ‘got a situation’,” Jack countered as he put his hands on his hips, making absolutely no efforts to cover himself “so, who’re your lovely new friends?”

“Oh, sorry,” The Doctor apologized distractedly “fam, Captain Jack Harkness. Jack, the fam”

“Wait, Jack? Like in the story?” Graham asked, steadfastly looking at the wall over Jack’s shoulder “Amelia Earhart? That Jack?”

“The one and only,” Jack grinned, winking at Graham “and Rose Tyler,” he chuckled “look at you, as lovely and youthful as ever. How old are you now, anyway? Three hundred? Five?”

“Four hundred and twelve,” Rose answered distractedly as she and The Doctor worked the controls “now, stop flirting and go get dressed, River’s in trouble”

“River’s _always_ in trouble,” Jack shrugged “why do you think I married her?” he grinned

The Doctor paused in her movements and looked up at him with a serious expression

“She’s on Paradise”

Instantly, Jack’s demeanor changed, his expression becoming deathly serious

“What?” he hissed “why? How?”

“All good questions,” The Doctor nodded as the TARDIS landed “now, let’s find out”


	2. Draconian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are folks! Chapter two! Enjoy! :=)

******

Exiting the TARDIS, the six travelers were confronted with a large, crowded room.

“This don’t look like a prison” Graham whispered

“No, this is the courtroom,” The Doctor whispered back “although ‘kangaroo courtroom’ would be a better description,” she added “the government here takes a draconian attitude towards crime; any crime is punishable by imprisonment on Paradise”

“Any crime?” Rose asked

“ _Any_ crime,” Jack nodded “everything from murder to pickpocketing, the government’s corrupt too, so they aren’t exactly willing to consider all the facts during trial” he explained

“It’s an ‘out of sight, out mind’ policy,” The Doctor explained “since they don’t believe in capital punishment they just dump their criminals in a hole and forget about them” 

“Nice idea,” Graham commented sarcastically “makes Australia look childish”

“So, how do we find your friend?” Yaz wondered

“Well, that’s the problem,” The Doctor sighed “like I said the prison is a rabbit’s warren of tunnels and caves; no cells and no way of tracking prisoners, so there’re no records”

“Meaning what?” Rose asked

The Doctor sighed

“Everyone pick a guard” she declared, gesturing to the imposing-looking figures in heavy body armor

“Why?” Ryan asked slowly as The Doctor tapped one guard on the shoulder

“Sorry, mate,” she apologized as he turned around and glowered at her “nothing personal, honest”

Then before he could response she swung out a fist and soundly punched him across the jaw. As he fell back, his fellows suddenly descended on the six, dog piling atop them…

******

Rose sat up with a wince, absently rubbing at the back of her head as she looked around, finding herself in large, dark cavern. Slowly sitting up, she looked around, finding that the others were laying around her in a loose clump, all looking like they’d been just dropped there. Looking up, she spied a chute or opening of some type in the ceiling.

“Rose?”

Turning, she smiled at The Doctor as the Time Lord slowly sat, wincing

“You all right?” Rose asked as she awkwardly crawled over towards her

“Yeah, I think so,” The Doctor replied, wincing herself “next time I suggest something stupid like that, hit me”

“Don’t worry, I will,” Rose replied, still rubbing at the back of her head “oh, I’ve got a splitting headache” she groaned

“Hang on,” The Doctor reached up and awkwardly pulled Rose down, bending her head down “no, that’s not your head, that’s the neuro-jammer,” she explained as she spotted the small, flat, coin-sized disc now attached to the back of Rose’s head “how are you feeling? Mentally?”

“Dizzy,” Rose answered “lightheaded, like I can’t….focus”

“Yeah, that’s the neuro-jammer,” The Doctor nodded “it’ll start to affect your brain chemistry the longer its in,” she awkwardly climbed to her feet “oh! OK that bit hurts! That bit _really_ hurts,” she held her side “oh, those guards did a really professional job on us didn’t they?”

“Yeah,” Rose nodded “good think I can heal fast like Jack” she muttered

“Where _is_ Jack?” The Doctor wondered

“Better question,” Rose hurriedly got to her feet “who are they?” she gestured to the large group of people slowly shuffling towards them…


	3. The Cavern

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter THREE! Enjoy! :=)

******

The group was large, about a dozen or so people, most of whom looked humanoid, dressed in shabby, tattered, raggedy clothing (presumably whatever clothing they’d been wearing when they were imprisoned). All of them looked haggard—thin, emaciated—with haunted, wild, dead eyes that had a decidedly glazed look to them as they approached the group.

Glancing back, The Doctor and Rose saw that the others were still struggling back to consciousness, Ryan and Graham both surging to their feet as they saw the horde, while Yaz and Jack were still semi-conscious. Turning back to the approaching horde, The Doctor cleared her throat

“Can we help you folks?” she asked

In answer, one figure—the largest one, and presumably, the leader—suddenly reached out towards Rose, only for her to grab his arm, pulling it out to the side and jabbing her splayed fingers at his chest. With a startled, gurgling gasp, he suddenly fell back into a crumpled heap to the ground.

Freezing, the rest of the horde stopped, assessing this unexpected turn of events as Rose shifted into a clear fighting stance.

Clearly deciding that the newcomers weren’t worth the trouble (at least not yet), they shuffled back, some lingering long enough to gather up their fallen comrade before they disappeared around the corner.

“All right,” The Doctor breathed “that should buy us some time, but we _need to move_ and _keep_ moving,” she stressed “we stay still, we’re dead. Ryan? Graham? You two OK?”

“Yeah,” Ryan groaned “think so”

“Yeah,” Graham nodded “aside from the jackhammer in my head”

“You’re not the only ones,” The Doctor muttered, rubbing at her own head “right,” she decided “boys? Help Yaz up, Rose and I will take Jack”

******

The tunnel seemed to go on forever, bending and twisting and turning. There were a few obvious signs of industrialization; the lights implanted in the ceiling—which proved, dim, flickering lights—and walls, some support struts, vents or ducts of some kind—none large enough to fit through unfortunately—but the rest of the place was just roughhewn rock, some of the walls even looked like they’d carved out by hand.

The tunnels were silent except for the distant sound of dripping water and the breathing of the six travelers. Occasionally, the distant sound of a fight would reach them, grunts and yells, and most frighteningly, desperate screams which was inevitably followed by silence.

Glancing back, The Doctor frowned as she noted that Yaz, although conscious, was still having trouble walking and standing, and was still having to lean on both Ryan and Graham for support, as Jack was doing the same with The Doctor and Rose.

“Hang on,” Jack slurred out, shaking his head “as much as I’m enjoying being so…close to you both, I need to sit down”

“Yeah, me too” Rose agreed

“It’s the neuro-jammers,” The Doctor explained “let’s settle down over here” she gestured towards a recessed alcove

“GO AWAY!”

A haggard woman suddenly charged out of the alcove

“MINE!” she screamed “MINE! MINE! MINE!”

“All right, all right, easy does it,” The Doctor urged “we’re just looking for somewhere to rest, that’s all”

The woman barked out a harsh laugh

“No rest, not rest,” she giggled “not here, not here” she chanted as she viciously slapped herself in the side of the head. Gasping harshly, she calmed and seemed to focus on the six

“Good boots,” she declared, glancing at Jack’s feet “you want rest? Trade”

“They’re probably a bit big for you,” Jack chuckled “but,” he awkwardly bent down and wriggled the boots off “…here, if it means we can rest for a bit, take ‘em”

Eyeing him warily, the woman hesitantly reached out, suddenly snatching the boots from him, examining them before nodding harshly towards the alcove

“In” she ordered…

******

The alcove was larger than it appeared from the outside (an irony that was not lost on The Doctor and Rose), the woman had assumed a collection of odds and ends; boots, helmets, old dented and rusty plates and cups, and a heating lamp of some kind.

“Thank you” The Doctor nodded as they settled down.

“Hmm” the woman grunted as she tried on Jack’s boots, which were indeed several sizes too big, but she didn’t seem to mind

“I’m Rose,” Rose introduced herself “this is The Doctor, Ryan, Graham, Yaz, and Jack”

“Don’t like doctors,” the woman commented as she tore open a ration pack of some kind, eating from ravenously “they don‘t like me”

“Why not?” Ryan wondered

In answer the woman just continued eating.

“What’s your name?” Rose pressed

The woman smirked at her, displaying a rather pretty smile beneath the grime and dirt

“Lilly,” she answered “like the flower”

“That’s pretty” Yaz commented as she rubbed at her legs, which apparently were still numb

“Lilly, we’re looking for a friend of ours” The Doctor explained

“No friends here,” Lilly shook her head “not here,” she tossed a ration pack at Ryan “eat,” she encouraged “good food”

“Have you seen our friend?” The Doctor pressed “she’s called ‘River Song’, maybe you’ve seen her?”

Lilly paused

“Bad one,” she declared “very bad”

“So, you _do_ know her?” The Doctor pressed

Lilly smirked

“Maybe,” she chuckled “trade”

“Trade what?” Rose asked “we don’t have anything”

“Hair,” Lilly pointed at Rose’s head “trade”

“Wha…you want my hair?” Rose asked “uh…OK, I guess. Anybody got a pair of scissors?” as soon as she asked Lilly suddenly stabbed a thin, knife-like object at a rat-like creature scurrying around. Grunting, she wrenched the blade free and then proudly offered it to Rose

“Trade” she repeated…


	4. The Hands of the Goddess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FOUR folks! Enjoy! :=)

******

Rose reflexively ran a hand across her now-short, scraggly hair. Lilly hadn’t been kidding when she said that she wanted Rose’s hair, and Rose had been forced to cut most of her hair off and now had what could be called—if it had been done professionally—a pixie cut, her hair only slightly longer than Ryan’s.

She was suddenly grateful that there weren’t any mirrors on hand at the moment. She wasn’t sure _what_ Lilly wanted her hair _for_ , considering how unbalanced she seemed she could conceivably want it for any use, real or imagined.

“Not a bad look, eh?”

Rose looked up at Graham as he came over, shivering without his coat

“I guess,” Rose shrugged “how bad is it?” she asked “be honest”

“Well…,” Graham began awkwardly “you know how little girls like to give their dolls haircuts?”

“That bad?” Rose chuckled

“Well, no,” Graham objected quickly “no, no! Just a bit…different, that’s all”

Rose just chuckled and shook her head

“The things we do for our friends, eh?” she mused “where’s your coat?”

“Oh, had to trade it to Lilly for some food,” he explained, holding out a ration pack to her, which she took and opened and frowned at its contents “at this rate, we all be stark naked by the time we get out of here” he added

“ _If_ we get out of here” Rose muttered

“Why do you say that?” Graham wondered “thought you were the optimist of our lot? That you never gave up hope in The Doc?”

“I do have faith in her, always have,” Rose nodded “but…things don’t always go according to plan, and people die”

Graham nodded solemnly

“Yeah,” he muttered, clearly lost in thought. For a long moment they both silent “still,” he added suddenly “if anyone can get us all out of here its you and The Doc”

Rose stared at him

“You really believe that, don’t you?” she mused

“Yeah,” Graham nodded eagerly “you and she? You’re like the stuff of legends you are,” he chuckled “what?” he asked when she smirked

“Nothing,” she shook her head “just…you’re not the first person to say that about us” she explained

“Yeah?” he asked, clearly intrigued

“There are stories about us,” she explained “when you tear about time and space like we do, you tend to make an impression”

“I don’t doubt it” Graham chuckled, which earned a chuckle from Rose in response

“Anyway,” she continued “some stories describe us as…vengeful, lonely gods”

“Vengeful gods, eh?” Graham chuckled “you two don’t look very godly to me. Angelic, maybe, but godly? Nah”

Rose smirked

“I’ll tell you about the Bad Wolf and The Moment sometime” she chuckled

“Bad Wolf and The Moment?” Graham echoed “haven’t heard those since I was a boy”

Rose looked up at him sharply

“What’d you mean?” she asked

“Oh, right, before your time probably,” Graham nodded “old nursery rhyme my Nana used to tell me” he explained

Rose stared at him, something in her eyes that made him suddenly feel uncomfortable

“How’d it go?” she finally asked

“Oh, right,” Graham nodded “now, let’s see: _‘Bad Wolf’s Moment come and gone, her opponent’s on the run, the Timeless Child dance’s in the wild while the lonely god stands alone’_ ,” he shook his head “all I can remember now,” he explained “mind you, its bit dark for the kiddies, eh?”

“Yeah,” Rose nodded slowly “it is” she agreed softly

“Right you two,” The Doctor suddenly came over “Lilly just finished telling us about why River’s here”

“Why is she here?” Rose asked

“Well,” The Doctor sighed “turns out she was part of an archeological dig and unearthed part of an artifact called the ‘Hands of the Goddess’, supposedly its an ancient icon that symbolized leadership, whoever held it was the rightful leader of Paradise”

“Like the sword in the stone” Graham nodded

“Sort of,” The Doctor nodded “now, the problem is, the Hands of the Goddess, whether its real or not, was declared a myth by the government over four centuries ago. Not only that, but it was considered to be a symbol of ‘demonic power’ by the planet’s religious authority”

“So, if your friend River found it, then she’d be considered a heretic” Graham nodded

“Exactly,” The Doctor nodded “plus, the discovery of the Hands would also undermine the people in power, it would topple more than four hundred years of religious doctrine”

“So they arrested her to keep her quiet,” Rose reasoned “out of sight, out of mind”

The Doctor nodded as Ryan, Jack, and Yaz approached

“So, not only do we have to find River, we also have to find the Hands as well,” The Doctor explained “the people here, not just the prisoners, but the ordinarily people are living under the thumb of a repressive government for ages, a government that tells them what to think, what to say, who to marry”

“Doc,” Graham held up a hand “you don’t have to convince us,” he explained “we get it; the government’s rotten to the core”

“So, now, we’re going to overthrow a dictatorship?” Yaz asked hesitantly

“Yep,” The Doctor nodded “problem?” she asked

“Not really, no,” Yaz shook her head “just…surprising”

“It’s just another day at the office with these two,” Jack muttered good-naturedly “so, Doc,” he began “where do we start?”


	5. In the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter FIVE! Enjoy! :=)

******

They’d been walking for about an hour or so, maybe less. They had yet to encounter any other prisoners, but that could change any second.

“How’re your heads?” The Doctor suddenly asked

“Still dizzy,” Graham answered “on the plus side, my headache’s gone” he added

“Mine isn’t,” Yaz countered “and my legs are still tingling”

“Mine are too now,” Ryan added “and my eyes…it’s like everything’s blurring”

“Oh good, so it’s not just me,” Jack muttered “god! This thing in my head is _really_ getting on my nerves!” he swung out a leg and kicked the wall, wincing as he pulled back, hopping slightly “ow” he muttered.

“Easy, Jack,” The Doctor warned “everyone try to keep calm, focus on something nice, a favorite song, something that calms you down,” she advised “Rose? How’re you doing?” she asked “Rose?”

Pausing, she turned, finding Rose was leaning against the wall, breathing harshly, her eyes glazed and unfocused

“Rose?” The Doctor slowly approached her wife “Rose? Can you hear me?” slowly, she reached out, resting a hand on Rose’s arm. With a gasp, Rose suddenly jerked, as if waking from a nightmare, frantically kicking and flailing.

“Easy! Easy, love! It’s me! It’s me!” The Doctor urged, blocking her flailing limbs before managing to take her by the shoulders “easy,” she soothed as Rose calmed and came back into focus “ _it’s me, Rose_ ,” The Doctor whispered as she pulled Rose close “ _shh, it’s me_ ” she breathed as she rubbed soothing circles on Rose’s back.

Panting harshly, Rose slowly calmed, awkwardly pulling away from The Doctor to smile sheepishly at the others, all of whom found somewhere else to look, feeling as if they were suddenly intruding on an intimate moment. Only Jack came forward, awkwardly standing by but not making any move to touch or interact with either woman.

“Sorry” Rose apologized as she pulled away from The Doctor

“No need to apologize, love,” Graham dismissed “you all right now?”

“Yeah,” Rose nodded shakily “I don’t know what happened,” she shook her head “it was like…I was…somewhere _else_ all of a sudden”

“Describe it” The Doctor encouraged

“Uh…it was a field,” Rose began “no, not a field, a plain, I guess? No grass, no trees, just rocks. And there was like, an altar, made of stone, natural”

“What else?” Jack asked

“A woman,” Rose nodded “Human, uh, a ginger, wearing this long, green dress,” she shook her head “I don’t know why, but, seeing her, it scared me”

“Did she say anything? Do anything?” The Doctor asked

“She spoke to me,” Rose nodded “she said…she said… _‘I’ve been waiting for you’_ , but…it was the _way_ she said it, like she… _knew_ me somehow”

“Could be a hallucination caused by the neuro-jammer,” The Doctor nodded “probably all it was. Scary, but harmless,” she brightened “come on everyone, need to keep moving” she declared.

As the group moved forward, Jack hung back by The Doctor

“Doc…” he began

“No,” she nodded “it wasn’t a hallucination” she turned to look at him, her eyes, as always, unnerving him. They were ageless eyes, eyes that had seen far more than he ever had

“You think she… _saw_ something?” he asked

“Worse,” The Doctor nodded grimly “I think she met _someone_ ”

“You mean…the Bad Wolf?” Jack asked “you know, you two never really explained what that whole thing was about, you know”

“You don’t want to know,” The Doctor dismissed “but I’ll tell you this, the Bad Wolf is the reason that both your and Rose don’t age anymore”

With that, she continued on after the group, quickly catching up with Rose and taking her hand. Jack absently following.

None of them saw the pair of eyes gleaming in the darkness, or heard the sound of claws scraping against stone as the eyes' owner followed them...


	6. Fury of the Goddess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are folks! Chapter SIX! Enjoy folks! :=)

******

Rose grunted as she rubbed at the back of her head, fingers groping through her hair as she felt the small rounded disc-shape of the neuro-jammer.

“Don’t pick at it” The Doctor admonished, swatting at Rose’s hands as she settled down next to Rose as they waited for the others to get back from scouting out the forking tunnels they’d encountered.

“Can’t we just…take ‘em off?” Rose groaned

“Not unless you want to pull your brain out,” The Doctor shrugged “they’re literally wired into your brain tissue with micro-fibers; if we still had our sonics we could disable them, but until then we’ll have to wait until we get back to the TARDIS…” she trailed off

Rose groaned response as she frantically rubbed at her temple, The Doctor quickly gripping her wrist and pulling her hand away, turning her hand over, she pressed a gentle kiss to the inside of Rose’s wrist, an act which brought tears to Rose’s eyes.

“ _Shh,_ ” The Doctor soothed as Rose struggled to hold back the tears “it’s not you, it’s the neuro-jammer messing with your brain chemistry,” she explained, pulling Rose close “ _just let it out_ ” she encouraged as Rose balled her hands into the lapels of The Doctor’s jacket, quietly sobbing as Jack rounded the corner

“Oh. Bad time?” he asked

“The neuro-jammer’s hitting her pretty hard,” The Doctor explained “what’d you and the fam find?”

“Not much,” Jack sighed “the tunnel on the right’s blocked off; I don’t know whether it was a cave-in or what, but unless you got a bulldozer in your pocket we won’t be getting through it”

“What about the left one?” The Doctor asked

“Just keeps going” Jack explained as Graham, Yaz, and Ryan emerged from the tunnel on the left. Graham and Ryan both looking haggard, while Yaz scowled

“Everybody all right?” The Doctor asked

“No, not really,” Yaz began “the boys here got into a fight”

“A fight?” Rose asked, absently wiping at her eyes “what happened?”

“He started it!” both Graham and Ryan exclaimed, pointing accusingly at each other

“Don’t you point your finger at me, old man!” Ryan exclaimed

“Oi! Who’re you calling old?!” Graham countered

“Boys! Boys!” The Doctor clapped her hands “focus! The neuro-jammers are amplifying your negative thoughts and emotions,” she explained “every bad thought you’ve ever had about each other is being magnified. You have to _fight_ it. Remember, we’re all friends here” she implored

Clearly reigning their anger in, Ryan and Graham backed away from each other, awkwardly avoiding each other’s gaze

“Sorry, Graham” Ryan apologized

“No, no, no, it’s…fine, it’s fine” Graham dismissed

“Shh,” Rose suddenly hissed “everyone, quiet”

“What is it?” Yaz asked as Rose stood up and looked around

“I think…,” she began “I think we’re being watched” she whispered

“I think so too” Jack agreed

“Same here,” The Doctor nodded “right, everyone huddle together, back to back, make sure that they can’t sneak up on us” she instructed.

As they all huddled together in a tight circle they could hear the sound of footsteps approaching, along with the frighteningly ominous sound of claws scrapping along the stone walls.

“Easy,” Jack whispered as several large shadows fell across the walls “easy…oh…my…god” he breathed as the figures emerged from the gloom. The four aliens were large, at least six to seven feet tall, looking like a grotesque cross between a reptile and a mammal, long, shaggy hair hung from their scaly shoulders like capes, while their eyes gleamed golden in the darkness as their long tails _swished_ behind them.

But the most frightening aspect of their appearance was the long, scythe-like claws on their three fingered hands and the jagged, irregular, razor-sharp teeth in their mouths.

The largest of the four approached the six travelers, its mouth widening into a mocking, nightmarish parody of a grin.

“ _Frrreshhhh…meatttt_ ” it hissed, a distinct leer in its raspy, hissing voice as its fellows broke apart, encircling the six, who shrank back towards each other into a tighter huddle

“We don’t want any trouble” Yaz tried

The lead alien laughed, a harsh, raspy, coughing-like sound

“ _Too…lateeee_ ” it chuckled as the four suddenly lunged for the six travelers

“ _Scatter!_ ” Jack yelled as all six of them dove for cover, each of them scrambling to find some way of defending themselves. Graham and Jack each grabbed a pair of rather weighty rocks and swung out at their attackers.

Yaz and Ryan, meanwhile, tried to duck and dodge the long claws slicing through the air at them, Ryan letting our a startled yell as one alien managed to grab him by the ankle and easily hoisted him up off the ground as easily as a twig

“Ryan!” grunting, Yaz leapt on the alien’s back, wrapping her arms around its thickly muscled neck in an attempt at a chokehold, which only served to anger it further. Dropping Ryan, it frantically wriggled, flailing its arms as it tried to reach behind its back to get at Yaz and, when that didn’t work, rapidly backed into the wall, violently slamming her into the wall.

“Hang on, Yaz!” lunging, The Doctor grabbed at the alien’s flailing tail, trying to pull it towards her, only for it to easily raise the appendage up, taking her with it. Glowering at her, it snapped out its tail like a whip, throwing the Time Lord up and back at least six feet before it managed to dislodge Yaz.

Growling, it looked between the two women, before approaching The Doctor.

Huddled against the wall, Rose clutched at her head, squeezing her eyes tightly shut, doubling over in pain as her vision blurred and swam the sound her blood thundering away in her ears, blocking out the sounds of the fight for survival going on around her.

Opening her eyes, she focused on the alien who had Jack pinned against a wall, the one who had its foot planted on Graham’s chest, and the one still toying with Ryan like a cat toying with a mouse. And, finally, on the one approaching The Doctor.

She felt a sudden surge of anger building inside her, steadily growing and growing as the sound of blood rushing in her ears was suddenly replaced with an ethereal, ancient song as the anger reached a boiling point.

“ _Leave….them… **ALONE!!!!!**_ ” she suddenly roared.

Suddenly, a brilliant golden light burst through the tunnel and the four aliens were flung through the air, as if yanked back like fish on a line, all of them colliding in midair before collapsing to the floor in a crumpled heap, the leader suddenly surging to its feet as if violently pulled upright, its expression suddenly fearful as it stared at Rose’s glowing golden eyes

“ _Goddesss…,_ ” it hissed, the fear clear in its voice “ _don’t touch me! Stay away me! Keep away from me! Keep a—_ ” it broke off in a startled gurgled as it arched its back before suddenly dissolving into a cloud of glowing golden dust.

Frantically staggering to their feet, its fellows tried to run only to suffer the same fate, before the light vanished as suddenly as it had appeared

“What the hell was _that_?” Jack demanded

Slowly getting her feet, The Doctor approached Rose, who now rocked back and forth on her heels, her eyes glazed and unfocused as she murmured under her breath

“Doctor?” Yaz asked “ _what_ was that?”

“Bad Wolf” The Doctor answered as they all stared at Rose…


	7. The Story of the Bad Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

River Song shivered in her unconscious state, an outside observer would correctly surmise that she was running a low-grade fever due to infections from her various cuts and scraps.

Breathing harshly in her sleep, she trembled as nightmarish images flashed before her minds’ eye; monstrosities that made the most terrifying creatures in the universe seem downright pleasant in comparison, before a wave of golden fire swept through her mind, obliterating the nightmare creatures to replace them with a pair of gleaming eyes and the howl of a wolf.

Sucking in a painful breath, River lurched up, panting harshly.

Wincing, she lifted her shirt, finding that the large spongy bruise from her cracked ribs was gone, as were most of her other injuries. Reaching up to the back of her head, she combed her fingers through her hair, feeling the neuro-jammer come away in her hand.

Bringing her hand to her face, she raised an eyebrow at the sight of the small piece of technology now warped and twisted as it lay in her palm, clearly burned out.

Shakily getting to her feet, she emerged from her hiding place and set down one of the tunnels, following the song in her head…

******

“Rose?”

The Doctor gently eased Rose down to the ground, propping her up against the wall, her head lazily lolling to one side, her eyes still glazed and unfocused.

“Doctor?” Yaz began hesitantly “what just happened? How did she do…that? Whatever… _that_ was?”

The Doctor leaned back on her heels, still crouched protectively over Rose

“A long time ago,” she began “there was a girl. Just an ordinary shop girl from London. And one day, this girl met a madman with a blue box and, together, they took off to see the universe. And then, one day, the madman met some very old enemies, enemies who would destroy everything in their path. So, he sent the girl away, sent her back home to her Mum and friends,”

She paused and reached out to gently stroke her fingertip across Rose’s cheek.

“But this girl,” she continued “oh, this girl was far from ‘ordinary’,” she breathed “she tore open that blue box, looked into its heart, saw the whole of time and space, _took it_ into her head, and became something else. Something ancient, powerful, a force of creation. She became…Bad Wolf, a god in human clothes, time itself given shape and form”

“An extension of the universe itself,” a new voice said.

Turning, the group tensed as the newcomer stepped out of the shadows

“Hello sweetie” River Song grinned…

******

_Rose was floating in a sea of glowing golden dust. She swam among the timelines of those around her, seeing the past, present, and future of everything everywhere. She herself was everything and nothing, at once a part of the fabric of the universe and at the same time outside it._

_She reached out, finding her friends nearby. Jack, Ryan, Graham, Yaz, and River, and Her Doctor. They were scared but safe._

_Content, Rose went back to her leisurely swim…_

******

“Here, in here,” River encouraged, ushering the others into the narrow but deep alcove, where a small camp of sorts had been set up “not exactly Buckingham Palace,” she shrugged “but it’ll do. How is she?” she asked as Graham and Jack gently set a still-semi-conscious Rose down

“Still out of it,” Jack reported “how ‘bout you?” he asked, approaching her “you don’t look so good” he remarked, reaching to tenderly brush of lock of hair away from her face

“I’ve been worse,” she dismissed with an easy smile “and look at you, Doctor,” she chuckled “never thought that _you_ of all people would change genders” she remarked

“I decided it was time for a change” The Doctor shrugged

River nodded, smirking

“How did it happen this time?” she asked

“The usual,” The Doctor shrugged as Rose groaned and weakly sat up rubbing at her head “Rose,” hurrying over, The Doctor crouched down next her “you all right?” she asked

Rose blinked, looking up at The Doctor blearily

“I think so,” she groaned “what happened?”

“You did,” Jack answered “you went downright Biblical on those lizards”

Rose blinked up at him

“I…don’t remember that” she admitted

“You never do when Bad Wolf makes an appearance,” The Doctor remarked as she draped a threadbare blanket over Rose’s shoulders, curling up around her from behind as she did, absently stroking Rose's hair

“Might seem like a funny question,” she began suddenly “but, is anyone feeling any different?”

The rest of the group frowned and looked between each other

“Actually…,” Graham began “yeah,” he nodded “it’s like…”

“…my head’s clearer,” Yaz finished “like…I can focus again,” she absently reached to behind her head, grimacing as she pulled something free “uh…Doctor?” she began “is this…?”

“A neuro-jammer,” The Doctor nodded, repeating the process herself “boys?” she asked

Graham, Ryan, and Jack repeated the process, also pulling the small devices free themselves

“They’re all burned out,” Jack remarked, holding his up to the dim, flickering light “but… _how_?” he wondered.

Slowly, all heads turned to Rose…


	8. The Grate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are folks! Chapter EIGHT! Enjoy! :=)

******

Rose shivered, partly from the cold damp air around her and partly from the knowledge that Bad Wolf had made another appearance. In the last fifteen hundred years since she’d first become the Bad Wolf they still hadn’t figured out what _exactly_ Bad Wolf was. All they had was rumor and superstition and two words which went back to the beginning of time itself, scattered throughout all of reality, and a powerful being who appeared very rarely but when it did, it did so with a flair for the dramatic.

Drawing the threadbare blanket around herself tighter she glanced at the others, most of whom were dozing against the walls.

“How are you doing?” River asked softly as she came over.

“That should be my question” Rose chuckled

“Like I told my husband, I’ve been worse,” River dismissed. She reached out, lightly cupping Rose’s cheek in a tender, almost motherly, gesture “Rose Tyler,” she breathed “the woman who stole The Doctor’s hearts”

“She loves you too, you know” Rose countered

“Not in the same way,” River dismissed “she loves me, yes, but not in the same way as she does you. You’re her other half, her better half, her soulmate, even. I am the woman who loves The Doctor, yes, but _you_ …oh, you Rose, you _are_ The Doctor’s wife. You always have been, and always will be. Me? I’m just a…footnote in your story. And that’s all right,” she assured Rose “that’s all right, because I’m still an integral part of the story. If it weren’t for me, then The Doctor would never have realized that she loved you”

“And I suppose that three-way wedding we had meant nothing?” Rose wondered

“To her, it didn’t,” River nodded “it was fun, like a game almost,” she explained “not that it didn’t matter to her, it did, but just in a different way then it did to you or me”

They both lapsed into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

“What’s that?” Rose asked suddenly, looking past River’s shoulder “is that…?” she awkwardly stood up, River following

“It looks like an overflow chute,” River exclaimed as they came upon a circular grate set into the wall “its old,” she realized “probably hasn’t been used in years”

“Yeah, but look at it,” Rose encouraged “its big enough for us to fit through”

“Rose, we don’t know where it leads, if anywhere,” River pointed out “we could find ourselves plunging down a thousand foot cliff, or just find ourselves trapped behind a rock wall”

“It’s worth a shot,” Rose countered, throwing the blanket off “Doctor! Everyone! Get up!”

With a series of grunts and gasps, the others surged awake

“What is it?” The Doctor asked

“We think we have a way out of here” Rose declared…

******

“Come on!” Jack grunted “put your backs into it!”

“Oh! Give it a rest, eh?” Graham complained “we’re not a bloody platoon!”

“Hey, it’s coming loose over here” Ryan announced

“Here too” Yaz added

“Right! Everyone, on three,” The Doctor ordered “ready? And…one…two…PULL!!”

With a collective grunt the group gave the grate one final hard tug. With a creaking groan and the sound of metal breaking, the grate came free, the force sending the group toppling to the ground.

Surging to her feet, The Doctor peered into the dark opening

“Doc, can you see anything?” Graham whispered

“No,” The Doctor answered breathlessly “it’s too dark, and cold,” she slowly turned to look over her shoulder at the others, grinning slyly

“Who’s first?” she asked…


	9. Into the Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter NINE! Enjoy! :=)

******

Although large enough for a person to fit through, the chute was still cramped, forcing the group to crawl through it single file. To make matters worse, the sides of the chute were slippery, covered in god only knew what, as well as cold, nearly freezing in fact.

“Just in case anyone’s interested,” Graham called, his teeth audibly chattering “but, my hands have gone numb”

“We’re all cold, Graham,” The Doctor called from the head of the line “Rose?” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder at Rose who was right behind her “hang on,” she instructed.

As Rose told the others to stop for a second, The Doctor reached out with one hand, running the flat of her hand along the wall of the chute, feeling it stop suddenly as her hand was met with nothing but air.

“Gang, I think the pipe opens up just up ahead,” she announced “hang on,” carefully edging forward, she awkwardly shifted, managing to swing her legs out in front of her, probing at the darkness in front of her with one foot “yeah,” she called out as she felt above her head “it opens into a cavern of some sort,” she announced as she cautiously climbed to her feet “do we still have that lantern?”

“Yeah,” Rose fumbled around as River passed the lantern along the line “got it” Rose awkwardly fumbled for the switch, the lantern flaring to life with blinding intensity

“Oh, that’s a bit bright,” The Doctor grimaced, blinking rapidly as she took the lantern from Rose and held it out “ _oh…wow_ ,” she breathed “look at this place!” she exclaimed.

The cavern was massive, stretching higher and farther than Europe’s highest cathedral, the light from the lantern being unable to fully penetrate the darkest corners, the series of chutes and pipes, like the one they’d just emerged from, seemed small and insignificant amid the rest of the space.

“You could fit _three_ Notre Dames in here and still have room to spare!” The Doctor exclaimed “forget Notre Dame,” she added “you could fit Buckingham Palace and Westminster, _and_ Norte Dame!”

“How big do you think this place is?” Rose wondered

“Who knows,” The Doctor shrugged “it must be an older part of the prison,” she surmised “there, look,” she pointed up at the network of crisscrossing pipes “those pipes must be part of the water system,” she explained “we could use those to get out! They must lead to a central point of some sort”

“Yeah, with a bunch of guards ready to shoot us” Jack muttered

“Oi! Optimism, Jack!” The Doctor admonished. She held the lantern up above her head “onward!” she declared…


	10. Light in the Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! Chapter TEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

The rest of the pipes were far too narrow to climb through and were closed off from the outside, but the ground was largely level enough for them to follow the pipes from the outside, occasionally resting their hands on them to make sure that they were going in the right direction.

“What’s this stuff on the rocks?” Yaz wondered, absently rubbing her fingers together with the slippery liquid that coated the rocks around them.

“Don’t know,” Rose murmured “it’s not water, too slippery”

“It smells almost…like…oil” Yaz wrinkled her nose

“Yeah,” Jack leaned over “I think it is some kind of oil” he confirmed

“Could be some type of petroleum,” River nodded “or other petrochemical”

“We could drill a well down here, be set for life” Graham chuckled

“Could be worth something” Ryan chuckled

“Shh, stop, stop!” The Doctor hissed, suddenly stopping

“What is it?” Rose whispered

“Don’t know,” The Doctor whispered back “something moving in the shadows,” she explained. As they all huddled together they heard it, a low scrapping sound, like something large moving among the rocks.

“Shh,” The Doctor warned “everyone stick close” she advised as the sound changed, getting closer.

Suddenly, there a whip-like _crack_ in the air and Ryan let out a yell as he was suddenly pulled off his feet.

“ _RYAN!_ ” Yaz and Graham both lunged, grabbing his hands, as The Doctor and the others frantically grabbing onto them.

“Everyone pull!” The Doctor yelled as a swarm of pale, translucent, tentacles suddenly came flying out of the darkness, swatting and batting at the group. Somewhere in the middle of the tangle of bodies and limbs struggling to free Ryan from the creature(s) grip, Rose suddenly spotted something

“Hang on! I’ve got an idea!”

Working herself free from the group, she lunged, awkwardly somersaulting to scoop up two medium-sized rocks. Getting to her feet, she struck the two rocks together, the both of them suddenly bursting into flames. Grimacing at the heat, she flung them both at the swarm of tentacles.

With a strange howl, the tentacles suddenly reared back, releasing their hold on Ryan.

“Everyone OK?” The Doctor called

“Yeah,” Ryan panted out “think so”

“Rose?” The Doctor turned towards her wife “oh…Rose” she breathed as she reached out, taking Rose’s burned hands

“It’s all right,” Rose assured her, wincing “see? They’re healing” even as she spoke, a shimmer of golden light danced around the wounds, the wounds themselves shrinking and vanishing in seconds. Smiling, she held up her hands “all good” she declared.

Turning them over, The Doctor examined them closely before finally releasing them.

“What was that?” Ryan wondered

“Some kind of cave creature, I’d imagine,” River panted “there’s probably a whole ecosystem down here”

“Great, so if the guards or the prisoners don’t kill us, these things will,” Graham grumbled. He glanced at Rose “not that I’m complaining, but how did you know those rocks would burn?”

Rose pointed to a small pile of rocks, which were still burning

“I saw those fall from up there,” she explained “made sense that the oil on them burns” she shrugged

“Oh, it’s more than that,” The Doctor realized “if this stuff is as flammable as it looks, then we have a weapon against whatever’s lurking in here,” turning towards the pipes, she wrapped both hands on part of the smallest pipe she could find and, pulling down, managed to break part of it free “right, and…,” tucking the pipe under one arm, she tore at her coat, ripping off a sizeable strip of fabric.

Rubbing the strip of cloth against some of the rocks, she wound it around the length of pipe then knocked it against the pipes, the oil-covered cloth instantly igniting.

“Right,” she declared as she brandished her makeshift torch “let’s go, gang”


	11. The Cult of the Goddess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter ELEVEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

The flame from the torch stank to high heaven, but the smell and flame seemed to scare off whatever predators were lurking in the darkness. Over the course of the next hour or so of their trek into the dark they’d heard or seen something dart away from the light deeper into the shadows, clearly afraid of the flame, which made sense: if the oil that coated the rocks was as flammable as it appeared, then the slightest spark was a danger.

Suddenly, Jack started whistling.

Looking between each other, the other started smirking, Yaz muffling a snicker behind her hand as Graham started humming to the same tune.

“ _In the town where I was born,_ ” The Doctor suddenly sang out “ _lived a man who sailed the sea, and he told us of his life in the land of submarines_ ”

“ _So we sailed on to the sun till we found a sea of green,_ ” Rose added “ _and we lived beneath the waves in a yellow submarine_ ”

“ _We all live in a yellow submarine,_ ” the others chorused “ _yellow submarine, yellow submarine. We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine_ ”

They broke off laughing,

“We are, all of us, absolutely _bonkers!_ ” Graham exclaimed

“Hey, takes one to know one” Jack laughed

“There we are,” The Doctor laughed “some smiles finally,” she grinned “hold up,” she held up a hand, stopping “quick! Hide the lights!” she hissed, passing the torch down the line

“What is it?” Rose whispered

“People” The Doctor whispered back as they huddled in a tight clump and peered around the corner, where several shadows passed along the walls.

“Guards?” Jack whispered

“Not sure,” The Doctor whispered back “might be”

“What’s that chanting” Ryan wondered

“Never mind that, what’s that sound?” Rose whispered, wincing and rubbing at one ear

“What sound?” Yaz asked “Rose? Rose? Doctor!”

Rose, as if in a trace, suddenly broke away from the group, following the procession of people.

“Rose!” The Doctor hissed “quick! Everyone follow that blonde!” she hissed as the group hurriedly followed her and the procession into a large chamber. The procession seemed to be a motley collection of both guards and prisoners, who, strangely, were acting surprisingly civil with each as they came to a stop, continuing their chanting as they swayed from side-to-side.

“Doctor, what’s going on?” Yaz whispered

“Don’t know,” The Doctor shrugged “hate not knowing”

“Looks almost like some kind of church service” Graham commented

“Doctor, that symbol,” River pointed at the front of the group, where a crude symbol had been hastily carved into the wall “that’s the sign of the Hands of the Goddess” she explained

“What, the artifact you were arrested for finding?” Yaz asked

“River, where did they take the artifact after they confiscated it?” Jack asked

“I don’t know,” River admitted “but, what if, someone recognized it for what it was?” she suggested

“And started a church?” Yaz questioned skeptically

“More like a cult,” The Doctor muttered “does anyone see Rose?”

“There” Ryan pointed to where Rose was steadily making her way through the crowd, pushing her way through the throng of bodies with a relentless, one-minded pursuit, seemingly unaware that there were any other people around her even as they tried to stop her, only to be flung back by some invisible force as soon as they tried to touch her.

Reaching the makeshift altar where a small weathered stone sculpture rested, Rose simply stood there for a long moment, staring at the object. Shaped like a pair of cupped hands, the small sculpture looked like it had been broken off from a larger structure, perhaps a statue.

“Rose!” The Doctor hissed as she and others struggled to push their way through the throng “Rose!” she tried again as the crowd tried to stop them, crowding around them, forcing them all to their knees.

“Trespassers!” a voice boomed from behind the altar

“Lilly?” Yaz questioned as a familiar figure emerged from the shadows

“Nice cover,” The Doctor panted out “even with the neuro-jammers stopping most of the prisoners from banding together, there’d still be a kingpin,” she hissed “I’m guessing that’s you”

Lilly smirked.

“Very good, Doctor,” she nodded as she lifted the sculpture high above her head, the crowd suddenly dropping their knees, prostrating themselves before the object “the legends speak of Goddess’ powers,” she explained “power enough to overthrow this world’s government and restore the old ways”

“Under _your_ rule you mean?” River spat “and what if people don’t want to follow your religion? What then?”

Lilly’s smirk widened into a cruel grin

“Then they’ll die” she proclaimed…


	12. The Goddess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are folks! Chapter TWELVE! I...really don't know how long this one's going to go, but I think we're near the end. Enjoy! :=)

******

The six travelers remained where they’d been found, held down the collective strength of group.

“Yaz,” The Doctor whispered “where’s Rose?”

Yaz craned her head as far as she could with a pair of meaty hands painfully pushing down on her shoulders.

“Over there,” she nodded towards where Rose remained where she’d stopped, standing stock still, seemingly unaware of the goings on around her as she was jostled back and forth by the movement of crowd, all of whom seemed to be in the process of unearthing something from the ground on Lilly’s increasingly-frantic and abusive orders.

Yaz turned to The Doctor

“Why is she still standing there?” she whispered

“I don’t know,” The Doctor shook her head “but I don’t like it”

“Its like she’s hypnotized” Ryan muttered

“She said she heard a sound,” Graham pointed out “you think she is hypnotized?” he wondered

“Quiet! No talking!” one of their guards suddenly barked out, one of them suddenly slapping The Doctor upside the head. Scowling as she absently rubbed her head, The Doctor craned her neck towards Rose, as if she could somehow _will_ Rose back to reality.

“We found it!” a voice suddenly called

“Move! Move! Let me see!” Lilly roughly shoved the workers aside and began to frantically lift a large muck-covered object out of the earth “yes…,” she breathed as the workers crowded around the object, struggling to lift it upright. Standing up, Lilly spread her arms wide as the others wiped the mud off the object

As the crowd cheered, the last of the mud was removed from the object, revealing it to be a statue. Approximately human-sized, it was a statue of a woman in a long cloak or robes, resembling the Virgin Mary in some ways, its hands had been broken off, the Hands of the Goddess were clearly the missing piece. But it was the statue’s face that had a chill running down The Doctor’s spine.

“Doctor,” Yaz whispered “that statue, its face…”

“It looks like…Rose” Graham exclaimed

“How is that possible?” Yaz wondered

“Bad Wolf,” The Doctor breathed “two words scattered throughout time and space”

“Behold!” Lilly proclaimed “the Goddess is whole once more!” turning as the crowd cheered, she picked up the Hands of the Goddess and attached them to the statue’s arms, the severed piece seamlessly reattaching in a shimmer of golden light.

Suddenly, Rose gasped, sucking in a painful-sounding breath, violently arching her back in a wide arc, lifting up onto her toes, before she toppled back, falling to the ground, where she lay, unmoving.

“Rose!” grunting, The Doctor tore herself free from the guard’s grip and rushed to her wife’s side “Rose? Rose?” she frantically patted Rose’s cheek, trying to rouse her as hands roughly grabbed her and pulled her back.

“Your friend has been struck down by the power of the Goddess,” Lilly proclaimed “the first of many,” she declared. Spreading her arms again, she addressed the crowd “rejoice, my followers! Our time of reckoning is at hand!”

The crowd _roared_ in response.

“With the Goddess on our side, we will storm the surface and usher in an era of righteousness!” Lilly declared “truly, this world shall be Paradise!! All who refuse to follow our path to enlightenment will…” she stopped, trailing off as a strong gust of wind blew through the chamber.

Turning, Lilly gasped at the sight of Rose now standing upright again, her eyes closed as she gently rocked from side-to-side, head lolled to one side.

“You’re wrong, Lilly,” The Doctor grunted out as she fought against the grip around her waist “she isn’t a victim of your goddess, she _is_ the goddess. She’s the Bad Wolf”

At those two words, Rose’s eyes suddenly flew open, swirling with golden light as the chamber began to tremble and shake violently, rocks falling from the ceiling. Slowly turning to her head towards Lilly, Rose spoke just one word.

“ _ **Run**_ ” she whispered as the wind picked up, filling the air with a mournful howling. Suddenly throwing her head and arms back, Rose burst into brilliant golden light…


	13. Absolute Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter THIRTEEN! (ooh! Ironic! :=)

******

The Doctor grunted as she was flung back by the shockwave bursting from Rose, grimacing as flecks of dust and small rocks pelted her, the ground trembling violently under her, cracks spider-webbing out in the stone. Grunting, she struggled to her feet, turning to find the rest of the gang doing the same.

“We have to get these people out of here!” she yelled over the howling wind, squinting through the blinding light to try and see Rose, but all she could see was a blinding golden glow in the outline of Rose’s form.

“What about Rose?” Graham called out.

“I’ll take care of Rose,” The Doctor called back “just get these people out of here!” she ordered.

“Be careful!” River warned

“Don’t worry, she won’t harm me!” The Doctor called back.

As the others began to usher the now-panicking cult members out of the shaking carven, The Doctor took a slow step forward, sidestepping the rapidly-growing cracks in the ground under her feet. Wobbling unsteadily as the ground crumbled, she reached out, finding that the light seemed to form a ‘wall’ of sorts between her and Rose.

Pressing her hand flat against the glow, she gave it a light push, suddenly finding herself falling through it.

Gasping, she caught herself, finding an eerie silence within, like the eye of a hurricane. Straightening up, she looked around in wonder, finding herself with a seemingly-endless expanse of golden light, glimmers of what could be people or planets swam around, the proportions distorted.

And in the center of it all, bathed in brilliant, shimmering golden light, was Rose.

Taking a cautious step forward, The Doctor took a breath, hearing her heartbeats echo as she did

“Rose?” she asked

“ _One face. Many names_ ” a familiar voice whispered, echoing around her

“Rose, you have to stop this,” The Doctor urged “I’m not sure, but I _think_ you could be destroying the planet right now. Not exactly a good story to tell our grandchildren”

“ _Not yet_ ” the entity who The Doctor now knew to be the Bad Wolf spoke. The light suddenly parted like a curtain being drawn back, Lilly appearing. Seeing Rose bathed in light, she let out a gasp.

“Goddess…,” she breathed “such power,” she held out her arms as if accepting something “share it with me, My Goddess, share it with me, and together, we shall cleanse this world!”

“Lilly, don’t!” The Doctor warned “you really, really, really, _really_ don’t want to do that”

“Silence unbeliever!” Lilly snapped as she sank to her knees “give it to me, give it to me,” she urged greedily, like an addict in desperate need for their next fix as twin ribbons of light flowed from Rose’s form into her eyes. Gasping, Lilly jerked “yes,” she breathed giddily “yes, oh! Yes! The power!” she laughed “the universe is _mine_! To command! To control!” she threw her head back, laughing uproariously “we’ll reach out across the stars, beyond this squalid world and cleanse the universe itself!!” she declared.

The Doctor glanced at the Bad Wolf, uncertain

“OK…,” she said slowly “I’m trusting you” she breathed as Lilly turned to look at her, her own eyes now swirling with golden light as she stood up, stretching out a hand towards The Doctor, only to suddenly stagger, gagging as she doubled over

“Wait!” she choked out “wait! Please! It’s too much! It’s too much! No more! No more!” her hands flew up to clutch at her head, her fingers clawing at her temples, drawing blood “ _NO MORE!_ ” she screamed desperately “ _MAKE IT STOP! NO MORE!_ ” she pleaded, frantically shaking her head “ _NOMORENOMORENOMORENOMORENOMORENOMORE!!!!!!_ ”

Screaming, she threw her head back, her entire form suddenly _shattering_ like glass as the light surrounding the three suddenly vanished. Gasping, The Doctor stumbled as she found herself back in the rapidly-collapsing cavern

Stumbling forward, she quickly scooped Rose’s limp form up into her arms, cradling her close.

“Doctor! Come on!” River called out.

Gasping, dodging falling rocks and the crumbling ground, The Doctor ran towards River, finding the others nearby, the entire cavern crumbling around them.

“Doc! We need to go _now_!” Jack called out “I don’t know what Rose did, but this whole place is coming down!”

“We need the TARDIS!” Yaz yelled.

The Doctor glanced down as Rose’s unconscious form in her arms

“Come on,” she pleaded “we need you to pull another rabbit out of your hat,”

Rose weakly shook her head as if in response to The Doctor’s words, a familiar grinding-wheeze filling the air, the TARDIS rapidly materializing, the doors swinging open on their own accord.

“Right! Everyone inside! Hurry!” The Doctor urged. Rushing inside, she gently set Rose down on the console room floor, before rushing to the console itself “come on, come on,” she pleaded “just a short trip”

With its familiar grinding-wheeze, the TARDIS took off as the cavern finally collapsed….


	14. Safe and Sound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FOURTEEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

“OK,” The Doctor sighed as she leaned back “I think we’re—” she was cut off as an alarm blared “…or not” she muttered

“Doctor,” River called “take a look at this” she gestured to the scanner on the wall of the console room

“Oh, hello there,” The Doctor grinned “look at you”

“Doctor?” Graham asked “what is it?”

“Prisoner records,” The Doctor explained “it looks like the neuro-jammers also acted like tracking devices, allowing the guards to keep tabs on the prisoners. And…according to this, all of the violent offenders are now dead”

“Dead? How?” Ryan asked

The Doctor turned to face him, smirking darkly

“Bad Wolf” she answered. Turning back to the console, she adjusted the controls, the prisoner records suddenly appearing as a series of holograms, names, pictures, and crimes appearing one by one.

NAME: T’ra’Ks’a  
CRIME: Murder  
STATUS: Deceased

NAME: Rork  
CRIME: Rape  
STATUS: Deceased

But the last file to appear had them all stopping, the file displaying more information than the others

NAME: Lilly  
CRIME: Serial murder (twelve counts of murder. Leader of the Children of Light cult. Responsible for the Green Sun massacre)  
STATUS: Deceased

“What happened to Lilly, Doctor?” River wondered.

The Doctor glanced back at Rose, who still lay unconscious on the floor

“She wanted power; she got it” The Doctor shrugged

“Courtesy of the Bad Wolf” Jack muttered, a visible chill going through the room at his words…

******

Rose grunted, wincing as her vision swam and blurred

“ _Easy,_ ” a distant voice said “ _easy, Rose, easy_ ”

Grimacing, she shook her head, finding River standing over her

“Easy, easy,” River repeated “just take it slow” she urged as Rose tried to sit up only fall back as a wave of dizziness overcame her. Wincing, she looked around, hearing the TARDIS hum in her mind.

“The Doctor?” she asked

“She’s fine,” River assured her “as are Jack and the others” she added

“We got out” she realized

“We did” River nodded

“How?” Rose wondered

River frowned

“Just take it easy for awhile,” she answered “The Doctor’s in the library”

Giving Rose a pat on the shoulder, she turned and left.

Grunting, her whole body aching, Rose managed to get off the bio-bed. Wincing, she stumbled almost-drunkenly towards the door, sensing that the TARDIS was shortening the distance between the infirmary and the library.

Entering the library, she found The Doctor and Jack playing chess by the fireplace (she always wondered where the smoke went), while Ryan and Yaz were playing some kind of holographic video game in another corner, and Graham was actually reading a book.

As she crossed the threshold, the group looked up at her almost as one

“Rose,” The Doctor stood up “how’re you feeling?” she asked

“Sore,” Rose answered as she eased herself down on The Doctor’s new purple sofa, the Time Lord joining her “how about all of you?” she wondered

“Well I think I still got some metal in my head,” Jack began “but, I’m good”

“Same here,” Graham called, raising a hand “sorry I don’t get up, bit of a bad back” he apologized

“No, no, it’s all right” Rose assured him as she leaned against The Doctor

“Ah, there you are,” River sighed as she came into the room “figured you wouldn’t stay still,” she remarked as she and Jack joined Rose and The Doctor on the sofa “what’s that saying about doctors making bad patients?”

“That we make bad patients” Rose chuckled, absently wincing as she rubbed at the back of her neck.

“You’re a doctor, Rose?” Yaz asked, she and Ryan coming over

“She has three degrees actually,” The Doctor answered “one in temporal dynamics, from the University of Luna, one in medicine from the University of Oxford, Mars. And a third one in spatial-temporal navigation from…where was it again, love?”

“New Atlantis” Rose answered

“Right,” The Doctor nodded “always forget about that one”

“I don’t know why,” Rose muttered “you ruined the graduation ceremony with a tidal wave”

“Oi! You can’t blame me for an act of God!” The Doctor objected “that tidal wave, and the resulting sentient algae bloom, was totally, one hundred percent, absolutely _not_ my fault! And you can’t prove otherwise”

As she protested, Jack made talking motions with his hand behind her head, earning a muffled snort of laughter from River and a swat on the arm.

“All right, all right,” River interrupted “let’s all stay calm here,” she urged “now then, Rose is safe and sound, I say we celebrate” she declared

“I could go for a celebration” Jack grinned

“We all know what your idea of ‘celebrating’ is, Jack” Rose snorted

“Hey, I don’t hear any complaining” Jack laughed.

Rose smirked

“No, you don’t” she agreed.

Standing up, she pulled The Doctor up with her, who in turn, pulled River up, who pulled Jack up. Smirking between each other, the four walked out of the room

“We’re just going to go…celebrate now” The Doctor explained to the others as she looped an arm around Rose’s shoulders.

Still standing in the room, Graham, Yaz, and Ryan all looked between each other

“Are they…?” Yaz began

“No, no,” Graham interrupted “just…no, I don’t want to think about it”

“Me neither” Ryan pleaded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll leave it up to you, dear readers, to decide just how Rose, The Doctor, and River and Jack are celebrating :=)


	15. Stand by Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are folks! The final chapter of "Bad Wolf Unbound"! Enjoy! :=)

******

Halstron V was a well known tourist destination for cash-strapped tourists. A ‘beach planet’, the planet consisted of a series of islands of varying sizes and a temperate climate, with cool sea breezes, mild sun, and a warm, welcoming people, it was well know throughout at least four galaxies as a perfect ‘family destination’ (although the definition of the term ‘family’ varied from species to species, meaning that not all ‘families’ were welcome, especially not those that celebrated an event by _eating_ their hosts).

It was also home to a vast bazaar filled to bursting with odds and ends from clear across the universe, making it the perfect place to shop for parts to fix the TARDIS, The Doctor had bumped into at least three different incarnations of herself on three separate occasions as a result (and then there was the time that she’d met four different versions of herself).

This time however, she wasn’t shopping for TARDIS parts but instead lounging in a chair outside a local café watching as Rose moved from stall to stall, haggling with the vendors with a practiced skill.

“She’s a trooper, ain’t she?” Jack remarked as he leaned back in his beach chair

“That she is” River agreed as she lounged besides him in a similar chair, the two of them decked out in traditional beachwear (although Jack’s swim trunks left little to the imagination).

“Is she?” The Doctor wondered “this whole… _thing_ with the Bad Wolf is going to take its toll one day,” she warned “and when that day comes…,” she trailed off for a long moment

“I don’t know what to do when it comes,” she finally spoke “what she could _do_ when it does”

“What you’ll do is simple and obvious,” River assured her “you’ll stand by her, as you’ve always done, as you always _will_. I’ve never known you to abandon her, and I don’t think you ever will”

The Doctor just sighed as she sipped her mai tai (or, at least, Halstron V’s equivalent)

“Hey, here’s a thought,” Jack spoke up “why don’t River and I stick around for a bit? Help keep an eye on her? Just until things get back to normal” he suggested

“That’s not a bad idea, actually,” River remarked. She sat up, lifting her sunglasses off her face and looking towards The Doctor expectantly “Doctor?” she questioned

“Not a bad idea,” The Doctor nodded slowly “but, don’t lie to her, tell her the truth,” she advised as Rose herself came over, sinking into the chair next to The Doctor’s with a tired, but happy sounding, sigh

“Got quite a haul there,” The Doctor remarked “you must’ve cleaned half the market”

“Almost,” Rose laughed as she handed The Doctor the credit stick “oh, I got this for you” she dug through one bag and pulled out a wide-brimmed, floppy beach hat which she happily dropped on top of The Doctor’s head.

“Nice,” The Doctor grinned “how’s it look?”

“Not bad” Jack nodded

“Better than a fez” River agreed

“Rose,” The Doctor began “Jack and River were thinking of sticking around for awhile, help keep an eye on you. Now, I know what you’re going to say—”

“No, no,” Rose shook her head “I think…I think that’s a good idea,” she nodded, her gaze distant “I’m starting to…remember bits and pieces of what happened towards the end there on Paradise,” she explained “I’m not sure… _what’s_ happening to me”

“Well, whatever happens, we’ll be there for you” River vowed

“All of us” Jack nodded

“And we always will,” The Doctor added, taking Rose’s hand and squeezing tightly as she finished her mai tai “come on,” she stood up, pulling Rose along with her “we’d better find Graham and the others, make sure that they haven’t gotten into trouble” she declared…

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! The end of what is, so far, the longest story in this 'verse :=). I hope everyone enjoyed it and I promise that the next one will be lighter in tone. Thanks to everyone who left comments and kudos and stay tuned for the next installment :=)
> 
> Thanks again
> 
> \--AXEe :=)

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought :=)


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